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Around 60 people gathered on the sidewalk outside of the Federal Building in the Lloyd District where Senator Ron Wyden has his office. They held signs calling for an end to the Gaza seige and invasion and in support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Many had the names of people killed in the current bombing and ground invasion of Gaza pinned to their chests. A group of five went inside to meet with Wyden staffers and reported back to the group afterwards. Paul Roland was there, and he recorded audio including interviews with Mark Braverman of Friends of Sabeel-North America, Portland group and Peter Miller with Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights.

Activists with Cascadia Forest Defenders and Earth First! converged on the Seneca Jones biomass plant in Eugene this morning to protest the company’s privatization of public lands in the Elliott State Forest and ongoing pollution in West Eugene.

Several protestors locked themselves to equipment at the plant, effectively blocking the “truck dump” where biomass is loaded into the incinerator.

The plant releases an estimated 17,900 pounds of air toxins into West Eugene Neighborhoods annually.

There are three schools within three miles of the Seneca biomass facility.

Eugene listeners will be interested to know that if they’re stopped at a police checkpoint this coming weekend, they had better agree to perform a Breathalyzer test, or risk being forced to have their blood drawn by the police.

During the coming holiday weekend in Eugene, police will implement a policy to forcibly draw blood from people who refuse to take an alcohol Breathalyzer test.

The so-called ‘no refusal’ policy will likely result in people being strapped down to gurneys and forced to have their blood drawn.

That’s been the result of ‘no refusal’ policies in other cities where they’ve been implemented.

Driving under the influence is a misdemeanor charge. Forced blood tests are not required for any other misdemeanor charges, including drug possession. But they are allowed for people suspected of drunk driving.

In Georgia, forced blood draws have become a standard practice over the last several years, but lawyers there have challenged the practice as unconstitutional.

Bob Chestney is an Atlanta-based lawyer who has filed legal challenges to the practice of forced blood draws. He is one of a group of lawyers that are challenging the practice of forced blood draws.

In Oregon, no lawyers have filed a challenge, and the ACLU told reporters that as long as the police get a search warrant for the blood, they are within the law.

But other civil liberties advocates say that strapping people down to a gurney and forcing them to submit to a blood draw is a violation of the fourth amendment ban on illegal search and seizure.

Friends of the Earth's Climate and Energy campaigner Lukas Ross talks about a bill passed yesterday in the US House of Representatives that would speed up oil drilling and fracking in the United States.

KBOO's Paul Roland speaks with Ariel Deranje about the 5th Annual Tar Sands Healing Walk, which calls attention to the continued exploitation of fossil fuels in Alberta, Canada and its effects on the land.

On the one-year anniversary of first news reports based on the disclosures of former defense contractor Edward Snowden, KBOO spoke with Norman Solomon, the director of the Insitute for Public Accuracy, about the current state of legal protection for whistleblowers in the defense and intelligence communities, as well as the Institute's new website, ExposeFacts.org, where whistleblowers can safely and confidentially convey their information to journalists.

On Thursday, the Seattle City Council moved forward with a proposal to increase the city's minimum wage to $15 per hour. However, the proposal is not that simple and hasn't pleased all proponents of a wage increase. KBOO's Sam Bouman spoke with Nicholas Caleb, a Concordia University professor and former candidate for Portland City Council in last week's primary election about the ins and outs of Seattle's proposal and continuing efforts to raise the minimum wage in Oregon.

This morning the Seattle City Council’s Committee on Minimum Wage and Income Inequality approved an ordinance that would increase Seattle’s minimum wage to fifteen dollars.
The ordinance will go before the full council next week.
The committee declined to speed up the slow phase-in of the ordinance, which gives most businesses three or more years to raise their wages.
The ordinance includes a number of contentious amendments, including a sub-minimum wage for teenagers and health-care credits for businesses that provide insurance.
The energy surrounding the push for a higher minimum wage in Seattle stems largely from grassroots organizing and the election of Socialist candidate Kshama Sawant to the Council on a platform that prominently included a fifteen-dollar minimum wage.
Nicholas Caleb, a Columbia University professor, ran unsuccessfully for Portland City Council on a similar platform in last week’s primary election.
Caleb spoke with KBOO’s Sam Bouman this afternoon about Seattle’s proposed ordinance and the ongoing push for a wage increase in Portland.

The Obama administration today released an update on its so-called “all-of-the-above” energy strategy.
The report advocates increased domestic oil and gas production, citing the nation’s economic growth and national security.
It endorses only a token increase in renewable energy production.
This report comes days before the president is expected to announce new greenhouse gas regulations for existing power plants.
Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica spoke with KBOO’s Jenka Soderberg about today’s announcement: